It takes several rounds of interviews to get hired at Tesla.South China Morning Post
Earnings season is approaching, and Wall Street's already ringing the alarm on a high-profile company.
Analysts are concerned about Tesla's Q1 deliveries, writes Business Insider's Beatrice Nolan. One survey by Bloomberg has analysts' delivery estimates for the most recent quarter down 6% compared to Q4. Tesla is expected to release the figure today.
Tesla won't report its full earnings until later this month, but Wall Street is preparing for trouble. Last week, at least three firms lowered their price targets for Tesla. One analyst called it a "nightmare" quarter for the company, while another firm labeled Tesla "a growth company with no growth."
It's been that type of year for Tesla, which is down 30% in 2024. A shift in EV demand in the US has been a part of the problem, but that's not the only issue.
It doesn't help that the group Tesla has been associated with is largely having a strong year.
The Magnificent Seven was one of the biggest stories in the stock market in 2023. Share prices in the world's biggest tech companies couldn't stop climbing.
This year, results have been a bit more mixed. Nvidia has remained a rocket ship, up over 85% this year. Meta and Amazon have also put up eye-popping returns, rising more than 41% and 20%, respectively, in 2024.
Microsoft and Alphabet's share prices haven't been as extreme, but both have outperformed the S&P 500, which is up more than 10% this year.
Even Apple — down more than 8% for the year — is still far from Tesla's woes. (Apple's main issue, not unlike Tesla, is tied to its drop in a once-favorable market: China.)
It'll be an uphill battle for Tesla. Its newest product, the Cybertruck, is exactly the type of EV shoppers aren't interested in. Instead of big and expensive, data shows the average customer wants smaller, cheaper vehicles.
That doesn't mean Musk doesn't have any tricks up his sleeve. One strategy is getting more Tesla drivers subscribed to its Full Self-Driving software, which can run $199 monthly. It could beef-up Tesla's profit margins and get it back in Wall Street's good graces.
3 things in markets
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
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Hotter-than-expected factory data cast doubts on a June rate cut. The bond market's expectation of interest rate cuts coming in June dropped below 50%, according to Bloomberg data. It's the result of the ISM manufacturing index expanding for the first time since 2022, another example of the US economy's ongoing strength in the face of high rates.
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3 things in business
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